Cross-chain bridge Wormhole is preparing to challenge LayerZero’s $110 million bid for decentralized finance protocol Stargate, arguing the current offer undervalues the platform and fails to serve the community’s best interests.
In a post on Stargate’s governance forum Wednesday, the Wormhole Foundation said it intends to submit a “meaningfully higher” proposal and requested that the community delay its ongoing vote on LayerZero’s deal for five business days to give room for its competing offer. Wormhole described LayerZero’s revised terms as “not a compelling offer” and called for a more competitive bidding process.
At the WF, we have respect for the @StargateFinance protocol, its team, and especially its holders. Stargate is a leader in multichain asset transfers. That’s why we’re stepping up with our intent to acquire Stargate – to ensure holders get the fair deal they deserve.
— Wormhole Foundation (@WormholeFdn) August 20, 2025
The move threatens to ignite a bidding war for Stargate, which was originally developed and launched by LayerZero in 2022. LayerZero is seeking to bring the platform back under its control, but its initial $110 million bid earlier this month faced backlash from tokenholders who argued it gave little benefit to Stargate Finance’s STG holders.
LayerZero amended its offer on Sunday, introducing a six-month revenue-sharing plan that splits Stargate’s top-line income equally between staked STG holders and a buyback program for LayerZero’s native ZRO token. The update has received overwhelming community support, with 88.6% of voting STG holders representing 6.6 million tokens backing the proposal.
Still, Wormhole is pushing for a pause, saying it needs access to Stargate’s financial records, user data, liabilities, and any potential legal or regulatory issues before presenting its counteroffer. It framed its acquisition pitch as the foundation of a “market-dominant ecosystem,” combining Stargate’s deep liquidity pools and established user demand with Wormhole’s integrations across dozens of blockchains, including emerging areas like real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.
While some community members have warmed to LayerZero’s revised offer, others maintain the token swap terms—set at 1 STG for 0.08634 ZRO—remain unfavorable, with calls for a more balanced 1:1 conversion.
The outcome now hinges on whether Stargate governance allows Wormhole the additional time it has requested to finalize a rival bid, setting the stage for a possible showdown between two of the sector’s leading cross-chain players.
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